


A Bit of Reciprocal Courage

by jacksparrow589



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Deviates From Canon, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and just a bit of hurt/comfort, Shirbert, adorable teen romance, and a second for good measure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 10:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20872505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacksparrow589/pseuds/jacksparrow589
Summary: Set at the end of the first day in episode 6 of season 2. Very non-canon-compliant, given how much a moment at all like this would have altered things.





	A Bit of Reciprocal Courage

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a bit rusty on the writing front at the moment and this is my first Anne fic, so YMMV on the quality, but if you were looking for anything that wasn't pretty pointless romantic teen fluff, you're very much looking at the wrong fic. This made my soul happy to write, so I did.

"...she dipped him and kissed him on the cheek! Isn't that terribly mannish of her?"

"She's a freak; what else would you expect?"

Gilbert shook his head. Anne's hair and her kissing Cole during that game of spin the bottle had been the talk of the gossips in class all day, and he had the distinct impression the kissing incident (for lack of more mundane term) had been the subject of conversation for the last few days. If it were anyone else, it wouldn't have lasted nearly so long, but unfortunately, tormenting and bad-mouthing the poor girl was the pasttime of half the teens of Avonlea.

On the rare occasion that Gilbert teased Anne now, he tried to make sure she got a smile out of it. She'd seemed fairly unconcerned with the gossip about Cole, anyway, so he supposed she was proud of her solution to that rather thorny problem. He knew he was.

"Marilla wants me home without delay, so I'd better go on my own," Anne was telling Diana with a wry smile.

Gilbert hurriedly packed his things and tailed Anne out of the schoolhouse. "Anne," he called quietly. "Wait up."

Anne froze. Gilbert caught up to her, noticing Anne's sudden tension. "Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned.

No. The only thing right at the moment was that Gilbert had returned, but Anne was not about to tell him that. "Is there something you need from me?" she asked tersely, not bothering to answer his question.

"I just figured since we're going the same way, I'd walk home with you."

He saw Anne swallow. She was clearly holding back, and he wished she would just say what was on her mind. This stony silence was incredibly worrying.

Finally, she murmured, "Do as you please," and set off. Had he been any shorter, Gilbert would have needed to run to catch up. As it was, he found himself lagging and needing to speed up to catch up as he mulled over Anne's reactions.

She slowed after a while. Gilbert was just about to ask again if she was alright when she made a short noise that was unmistakably a held-back sob.

"Anne..." He reached out to touch her shoulder. "Please... Tell me what's wrong?"

Anne turned to face him, furious and miserable and on the brink of tears. Again, instead of answering, she demanded as loudly as she could without letting the tears flow, "Why are you walking with me?"

Gilbert blinked. "Because we live in the same direction from school? And because I'm happy to see you again?"

Something in Anne's face changed as he spoke, and in an instant, Anne crumbled. She buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders shook as she sobbed brokenheartedly.

Gilbert cleared some space to set his and Anne's books down, and put both hands on her shoulders. "Anne, please, tell me what's wrong. I want to help, but I can't if you don't talk to me."

He knew he was asking for it, and yet, the force of her words and of her hands as she gestured violently at her touque still managed to surprise him. "Have you not been looking at me, Gilbert? Do you not see how hideous I am? I'm... I'm..."

"You're _you_, Anne." Gilbert sighed. "Your hair took me a bit by surprise, and I'll admit I think it looks better long, but I'm just happy to be back here with everyone. With you."

Out of sheer surprise, Anne's sobs stopped just as suddenly as they started. "You like my hair?"

Gilbert let out another sigh, softer and fonder. "I like _you_, Anne. I like that you're courageous and outspoken and honest and good. I like that you're smart and hard-working and always surprising me. You're kind until someone proves they don't deserve it, and then you stand up for yourself. You're loyal and fierce and I..." He stopped, realizing Anne was looking up at him. She was clearly stunned, but not unhappy.

"I think you're beautiful," Gilbert finished quietly. He smiled tenderly and added "And your hair is beautiful, too."

"...I... uh..." Anne reached up to try and tuck back a lock of hair that wasn't there anymore. She bit her lip and looked down for a moment, wiping her eyes dry. "I feel like I should return your kindness."

Gilbert tilted his head just a bit in confusion. "I thought Marilla wanted you home?" Anne's silence let the answer dawn on him. "You just didn't want..."

Anne nodded. "The recent parlor games have been... Less than kind, as well." She sighed. "Truthfully, I'd rather they were more like this; telling people what you admire about them."

One of Gilbert's hands had slid from Anne's shoulder to her hand. He tugged it just a bit closer to him. "Go on, then," he said with a smile.

Anne took a breath, a smile lighting up her features. "Well, Gilbert Blythe, I appreciate that you are hard-working and studious. I appreciate your calmness and warmness and your willingness to help others. I admire your ambition, and I know you'll go far." Anne bit her lip again before finishing near a whisper: "And I... think you're very handsome."

Somewhere during Anne's speech, the hand that had remained on Anne's shoulder had slid to her wrist. Gilbert was now holding both of Anne's hands in front of his waist, and both of them were realizing just how close they were.

Gilbert let go of one of Anne's hands, cupping her cheek instead. Anne started just the littlest bit, but stayed where she was, face upturned and clearly waiting and hoping.

Very, very slowly, Gilbert leaned down and brushed his lips against Anne's.

She'd been afraid that when this moment came, all she'd remember was the torment. That the times she'd been called ugly and told nobody would ever want her would eclipse this wondrous moment.

Never in her life had Anne been so happy to be wrong. Impulsively, she grabbed a fistful of Gilbert's jacket with her free hand to help her balance as she rose up onto her toes. The hand holding hers dropped to her waist to help her balance.

It seemed to go on forever, but mere seconds later, a hawk's call startled them apart, but not far. Anne brought her free hand to her mouth in shock, her other still firmly wrapped in Gilbert's coat just as his hadn't left her waist.

"I think," Anne said quietly, "you may have just found a way to surprise me."

"I think," Gilbert murmured, pulling her closer, "that I got the courage from you." He leaned in again, smiling when Anne tugged on his coat to pull herself in and meet him half way. She tilted her head at just the last second to miss his nose, and found the resulting effect on the kiss rather satisfying, and even more so when Gilbert opened his mouth just a bit against hers. Her breath hitched slightly, and her knees went a little weak. This was the sort of kiss she'd read about. This was, she realized, the sort of kiss Marilla had talked about last night.

Which meant...

Anne pulled back so her forehead was resting against Gilbert's and giggled just a bit.

“What's so funny?”

“It's not funny, exactly. Just...” Anne smiled. “I'm not certain I have the words for this.”

The look Gilbert was giving her was very nearly too much. Naturally, it set Anne completely over the edge when the only thing he said in response was “Good.” He kissed Anne's forehead gently before pulling her into a long hug. Anne sighed and nuzzled into his chest, her arms still pinned between them where they held Gilbert's coat.

They passed several minutes that way before a particularly brutal gust of winter wind blew through. Gilbert instinctively held Anne tighter, but echoed her cry of dismay as their things started to scatter. He released her as she pushed away, but the both of them couldn't help laughing as they gathered their things, handing them back and forth as needed to sort them out.

* * *

Most of the rest of the walk back through the woods was spent with them silent, but nearly joined at the hip. As they neared the tree line, Anne stopped. “Gilbert?”

“Hmm?”

Anne again lifted her hand to tuck an invisible braid back, frowning slightly when she realized it wasn't there, but as she looked up into Gilbert's eyes, her smile returned, and she stood up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Gilbert beamed back down at her. “I meant every bit of it.”

“So did I.” Anne waited for a moment, then heaved a sigh. “May I... walk with you tomorrow morning?”

“I'd like that. Very much.”

They smiled at each other for another long moment before walking out of the trees and going their separate ways.

It would only be when they arrived home and sorted out their things that they would realized they'd each left a mitten of their own with the other as an excuse to see each other again, and all they would be able to do would be to laugh fondly about it until they saw each other next. They would figure it out yet.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know that Anne very specifically asks why the girl can't make the first move in the previous episode. Had she been in a better mood, she absolutely could have, but in this moment she's so unconvinced of her own beauty (despite Marilla telling her she doesn't have to be conventionally pretty) that I don't think she'd emotionally be in a place to do that. But she does take back a bit of agency the second time around, so there's that, right?  
I'm also under the impression that they maybe didn't have school the next day because of the holidays, but I'm gonna pretend they had one more day left.


End file.
